Building a submarine without the resources of a big shipyard and using only scavenged or off-the-shelf parts is an unusual idea by any standard. But Peter Robbins has dreamed of submarines all his life, and he is an unusually determined man. Over the course of four years, Robbins staked everything he owned to build his own submarine, the Alicia, in a bid to explore, first-hand, the sunken wrecks of German U-boats. As an engineer, he is fascinated by the precision of U-boat technology; as an entrepreneur, he is intrigued by the prospect of underwater tourism. Assembled from more than 2 million parts, at a cost of $1.5 million, will the Alicia be the success he hoped for? Dive into uncharted waters with NOVA for the maiden voyage of one man’s lifelong dream.
Producers: WGBH
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Bees – Tales from the Hive
Amazingly up-close footage filmed with specially developed macro lenses brings you the most intimate- and most spectacular- portrayal of a working bee colony ever filmed. It’s not frightening- it’s fascinating. See things you never imagined. Hear things only bees hear. Discover new found facts about the strange and complex life of bees.
Have you ever seen the high-speed mid-air “wedding flight” of a drone and his queen? Do you know how the colony defends itself against honey-loving bears? Did you know it takes nectar from 10 million flowers to create a single liter of honey? No wonder they’re called worker bees! Bees: Tales from the Hive exposes a bee colony’s secret world- detailing such rarely-seen events as the life-or-death battle between a pair of rival queens, a bee eater’s attack on the hive, and a scout bee’s mysterious dance that shares special “nectar directions” with the rest of the hive. -
Ants – Little Creatures Who Run the World
From vast underground caverns, working class armies pour forth to defend their highly structured communal way of life. Are these feudal societies in the Middle Ages? No, they’re ants! NOVA looks at the most successful life forms on the face of the planet in Ants: Little Creatures Who Run the World, hosted by Harvard University’s internationally renowned ant authority, naturalist Edward O. Wilson. What’s impressive about ants is how they practice what we preach: family values. All ants belong to extended families and carry their prey home to share. Unselfishness is the rule. Everything they do is for their colony’s good. For them, socialism works.
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Bugs!
Ants: Little Creatures Who Run the World: Explore vast underground caverns, from which working-class armies pour forth to defend their highly structured communal way of life. Are these feudal societies in the Middle Ages? No, they’re ants! Hosted by Harvard University’s internationally renowned ant authority, naturalist Edward O. Wilson, NOVA looks at the most successful life forms on Earth. What’s impressive about ants? All ants belong to extended families, and unselfishness is the rule. Everything they do is for their colony’s benefit. For them, socialism works.
Bees: Tales from the Hive: Did you know it takes nectar from 10 million flowers to create a single liter of honey? No wonder they’re called worker bees! Amazing up-close footage filmed with special lenses brings you the most intimate–and most spectacular–portrayal of a working bee colony ever filmed. Expose yourself to a bee colony’s secret world. It’s not frightening–it’s fascinating.
The Unknown World : They’re hiding in your closet. They’re lurking in your bed. They’re all over you–snacking on your skin, burrowing through your scalp, munching on your mascara. They’re the creepy crawlers of the unknown world, and now–thanks to micro-photographer Lennart Nilsson, you can catch these critters in the act, magnified to monster size. Zoom in: a secret drama is taking place, in, on, and around us in a hidden world. And yes, we’re all in it togetherttwhether we know it or not. (170 min on 3 DVDs) -
Percy Julian – Forgotten Genius
His house was firebombed. He lost his job on the eve of the Depression. He took on powerful, entrenched interests in the scientific establishment and overcame countless obstacles to become a world-class chemist, a self-made millionaire, and a humanitarian. Yet despite his achievements, Percy Julian’s story is largely unknown. The grandson of Alabama slaves, Julian broke the color barrier in American science more than a decade before Jackie Robinson did in baseball. A brilliant innovator, he discovered a way to turn soybeans into synthetic steroids on an industrial scale, helping to make drugs like cortisone available to millions. In Forgotten Genius, a special two-hour presentation starring Tony-award winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson, NOVA brings Julian’s scientific breakthroughs and gripping biography to life, with vivid period reenactments based on newly opened family archives and interviews with dozens of colleagues and relatives.
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Origins (A Science Odyssey)
The earthquake that shatters San Francisco in 1906 opens a century of explosive discoveries and debates in the earth sciences. See the Earth through the eyes of Alfred Wegener, who struggles to convince the scientific establishment that continents move. Watch as radiodating techniques increase Earth’s estimated age – sometimes inspiring skepticism if not outrage. Meanwhile, a parallel upheaval rumbles the life sciences, where new evidence of our primate ancestors and the discovery of DNA’s structure stir up controversies of their own. Ancient fossils and living cells give up their secrets to change our view of our species and the mechanics of life.
Highlights include: Age and origins of the Earth. Volcanoes. Earthquakes. Alfred Wegener. Continental drift. Harry Hess. Plate tectonics. The Himalayas. The formation of mountains. Religion, myth, and science. Human origins. The Scopes trial. The legacy of Charles Darwin. Mutation and adaptation. Paleoanthropology. Louis and Mary Leakey. Donald Johanson and “Lucy.” Primordial soup. DNA. Origins of life. -
Descent into the Ice
Mont Blanc is one of the world’s most popular destinations for Alpine climbers and scientists: no other peak has such a long record of mountaineering and glaciology. But 200 years of winter sports, science, and tourism have done nothing to tame this mountain. The hazards generated by rock falls, ice avalanches, and sudden flooding are still poorly understood and almost impossible to control. We follow a team of daring ‘glacionauts’ as they descend into a labyrinth of unexplored ice caves to find trapped flood water that menaces the populated valleys below. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions.
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A Science Odyssey Educational Set
Includes the complete 10-hour A Science Odyssey series, plus Short Trips- a special DVD just for educators that encourages kids to think abour big ideas that impact science and society. (620 min on 6 DVDs)
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Short Trips
Based on a Science Odyssey, the six segments included in Short Trips are designed to help educators get their students thinking and talking about big ideas in science and society. Each segment begins with a “big question” to get groups started, and includes an outline of an activity suitable for group or classroom use. A printable teacher’s guide is included on the DVD-ROM
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Dogs and More Dogs
We feed them, breed them, pet them and dress them, but how well do we really know them? John Lithgow narrates this insightful look at how dogs evolved from fierce wolves to playful pets-and why there are so many types of dogs today. NOVA goes beyond the wagging tails and floppy ears to reveal surprising insights into the origin and evolutionary strategy of our canine companions. From a wolf research facility in rural Indiana to New York’s Westminster Dog Show, you’ll discover some amazing dog facts. Did you know the Saluki can beat any other mammal on earth in a three-mile race? That dogs developed spots for a specific reason? And that their evolution is helping us learn about our own? Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.